Goose droppings continue to be a problem in public open spaces around town, including the harborfront, South Shore Country Club, Cushing Pond, and numerous athletic fields.

Department of Community Planning Director Mary Savage-Dunham recently called an informal gathering of representatives from various town entities to share ideas and to start developing a long-term townwide solution.

The recent spraying of the harborfront areas under the control of the Bathing Beach Trustees with a chemical repellent that has been deemed harmless to humans and animals has proved effective so far.

Harbor Development Committee member John Thomas and Trustee Joan Williams have monitored the situation every day since the May 29 application and haven’t seen one goose in the treated area.

“This is a good test case,” Trustee Alan Perrault said, noting that if geese are spotted by the gazebo and/or in the area of the Iron Horse Statue (not sprayed because this property is under the control of the Selectmen) but not in the grove and along the grassy strip along Route 3A – which were treated – a case could be made for the effectiveness of the treatment.

Thomas and Williams will also check the area for geese following the expected rainfall Wednesday and Thursday of this week. “Time will tell,” Williams said.

Various town officials recently developed a 25-page draft Goose Management Plan that provides information about goose-human conflicts, public health and water quality issues, management strategies, and site-specific recommendations.

Various options include egg addling – which involves temporarily removing fertilized eggs from the nest, terminating embryo development, and placing the egg back in the nest to mislead the goose into thinking the egg is still in the development stage — hunting geese in areas where this would be allowed, using a trained dog to scare the geese away as has been done in the past, and further chemical spraying, which lasts for a limited time depending in part on the weather.

Spraying may not be practical on large parcels such as the Country Club, but other options will be explored.

See the June 12 Hingham Journal for full details.

You can follow Reporter Carol Britton Meyer on Twitter at CMeyerJournal.